NOVA
Season 13

s13e01 / The National Science Test II

9th Oct '85 - 1:00am
The National Science Test II Summary

In NOVA's special sequel to 1984's National Science Test, viewers can match wits with celebrity panelists David Attenborough, Michelle Johnson, Edwin Newman and Alvin Poussaint and a live studio audience. Art Fleming hosts.

87 have watched this episode

s13e02 / Seeds of Tomorrow

16th Oct '85 - 1:00am
Seeds of Tomorrow Summary

NOVA examines worldwide efforts of scientists who employ aggressive agricultural technologies to ensure food for the future.

87 have watched this episode

s13e03 / What Einstein Never Knew

23rd Oct '85 - 1:00am
What Einstein Never Knew Summary

Albert Einstein did not live to find the answer. NOVA follows a new generation of physicists in their search to explain the mystery of the universe.

87 have watched this episode

s13e04 / The Robot Revolution?

30th Oct '85 - 2:00am
The Robot Revolution? Summary

How are the computer and the robot affecting the way we work? NOVA chronicles the new industrial revolution reshaping the American workplace.

87 have watched this episode

s13e05 / The Magic of Special Effects

6th Nov '85 - 2:00am
The Magic of Special Effects Summary

NOVA cameras go behind-the-scenes to reveal the new art of illusion, Hollywood-style, focusing on three blockbuster films - "Return of the Jedi," "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and "2010: The Year We Made Contact."

87 have watched this episode

s13e06 / Child Survival: The Silent Emergency

13th Nov '85 - 2:00am
Child Survival: The Silent Emergency Summary

NOVA charts the progress of an ambitious worldwide health program established to save the lives of millions of children who continue to die from common but curable diseases.

87 have watched this episode

s13e07 / Tornado!

20th Nov '85 - 2:00am
Tornado! Summary

NOVA follows a chase team - a group of scientists who chart deadly tornadoes - in an effort to learn more about predicting nature's most powerful and elusive weather phenomenon.

87 have watched this episode

s13e08 / The Genetic Gamble

27th Nov '85 - 2:00am
The Genetic Gamble Summary

NOVA examines current research and its ethical implications as modern medicine confronts the era of human gene therapy.

87 have watched this episode

s13e09 / Animal Architects

4th Dec '85 - 2:00am
Animal Architects Summary

NOVA examines the intricate world of nature's construction industry and presents rare footage of unusual habits.

87 have watched this episode

s13e10 / The Plane that Changed the World

18th Dec '85 - 2:00am
The Plane that Changed the World Summary

NOVA joins the 50th anniversary celebration of the DC-3 - the plane that revolutionized commercial air travel, served gallantly in World War II and is called the most important plane ever built.

87 have watched this episode

s13e11 / Halley's Comet: Once in a Lifetime

22nd Jan '86 - 2:00am
Halley's Comet: Once in a Lifetime Summary

NOVA observes worldwide preparations as amateur comet hunters, astronomers and scientists armed with specialized cameras, high powered telescopes and spacecraft look to the heavens in search of the expected arrival in 1986 of Halley's Comet.

88 have watched this episode

s13e12 / Goddess of the Earth

29th Jan '86 - 2:00am
Goddess of the Earth Summary

Gaia, the Greek word for Earth goddess, also is the name of the controversial hypothesis that life on Earth controls the environment. NOVA explores this provocative theory that challenges conventional ways of thinking about the Earth.

87 have watched this episode

s13e13 / Horsemen of China

5th Feb '86 - 2:00am
Horsemen of China Summary

For centuries, the Chinese Kazakh horseman preserved their ancient traditions, refusing to be dominated by either the Chinese or nearby Russian cultures. Today, however, this nomadic tribe has integrated communism into its way of life. NOVA traces the ancient Kazahk lifestyle and looks at how the Chinese cultural Revolution has modernized Kazakh customs.

87 have watched this episode

s13e14 / Life's First Feelings

12th Feb '86 - 2:00am
Life's First Feelings Summary

NOVA explores the incredibly complex emotional development of infants and examines the current theory that early childhood psychological intervention can head off emotional problems later in life.

87 have watched this episode

s13e15 / The Case of the Frozen Addict

19th Feb '86 - 2:00am
The Case of the Frozen Addict Summary

In July 1982, a 42-year-old addict in a San Jose, California jail became paralyzed - unable to move or talk. His symptoms, caused by a bad batch of synthetic heroin, were indistinguishable from those associated with Parkinson's disease, a degenerative nerve disorder that strikes the elderly. NOVA traces the story of a "designer" drug which could lead to a major medical breakthrough.

87 have watched this episode

s13e16 / Toxic Trials

26th Feb '86 - 2:00am
Toxic Trials Summary

When a high number of cancer cases struck the suburban community of Woburn, Massachusetts, the town mobilized to investigate why. The result was a landmark study of the effects of hazardous wastes. NOVA explores the legal and scientific implications of the link between environmental pollution and illness.

87 have watched this episode

s13e17 / Skydive to the Rain Forest

5th Mar '86 - 2:00am
Skydive to the Rain Forest Summary

NOVA journeys to a remote region of southern Venezuela where the land is alive with spectacular waterfalls, colored by exotic flowers and inhabited by rare species of birds and animals.

87 have watched this episode

s13e18 / Return of the Osprey

12th Mar '86 - 2:00am
Return of the Osprey Summary

NOVA follows a conservation success story as environmentalists, scientists and bird-lovers fight to save the majestic Osprey from extinction.

87 have watched this episode

s13e19 / The Rise of a Wonder Drug

19th Mar '86 - 2:00am
The Rise of a Wonder Drug Summary

When Alexander Fleming discovered the penicillin mold in 1928, he never considered its possible therapeutic value. NOVA explores the "Fleming myth" and reveals the true story of the scientists who worked behind the scenes to develop the wonder drug of the century.

87 have watched this episode

s13e20 / When Wonder Drugs Don't Work

26th Mar '86 - 2:00am
When Wonder Drugs Don't Work Summary

NOVA examines the medical community's alarm as the spread of antibiotic-resistant infection increases, and studies how one hospital fights its own dramatic epidemic.

87 have watched this episode

s13e21 / Visions of Star Wars

23rd Apr '86 - 2:00am
Visions of Star Wars Summary

NOVA and Frontline combine resources to explore the Strategic Defense Initiative. The two-hour documentary contains the most comprehensive information on "Star Wars" ever produced. Bill Kurtis of WBBM-TV/Chicago hosts.

87 have watched this episode
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